.: Chapter fourteen – Unchangeable Fate :.

Yami suddenly felt very hot under the collar and highly uncomfortable. His eyes met Yuugi's and the boy looked hurt and confused. And slightly scared. The prince winced, not wanting to see that look ever again.

"I suppose now's not the time to say this is a very big misunderstanding...?"

Yuugi turned around, looking almost like a zombie or someone who was on autopilot as he started to walk away from the group, back turned on them. Yami frowned, but honestly couldn't blame Yuugi at all. On the television were pictures of their faces from the security cameras, the woman continuing to explain the situation to the public.

This sure didn't look good for the three.

Ryou now looked horrified, knowing he'd housed two criminals -- possibly murderers! -- like he'd suspected in the first place. And like Malik had said in the beginning. Was it a good or a bad thing he wasn't here right now...? Regardless of being pissed off at him, Ryou knew the Egyptian could fight. And, uh... if something happened...

Yeah.

Though Jounouchi hadn't met them very long ago, how could they be criminals, he wondered. But whether or not they really were, he'd defend his friends tooth and nail.

After a few moments of stunned and sinking-in silence, a quiet voice finally pressed on. "I thought you three walked out of there without a problem." Yuugi murmured, referring to the whole police-station adventure. "I thought they let you leave."

Mariku had wandered over to another spot in the living room, while Bakura was glaring at the carpet, looking miffed and lost in thought. This left Yami alone to defend them. "They... did, Yuugi." he said, feeling very awkward right now. He never thought this would blow up into something this big...

Yuugi turned around; gray eyes looking pained and highly upset. "Then why are you on the news as criminals!" he nearly shouted (well, he did shout it, but we're going to pretend that he still had self-control), pointing at the television, which was now doing a story on pollution.

The prince winced and turned his head to the side, not looking at the boy. The younger was so trusting... no wonder it hurt so much knowing that he was lied to. And since he'd been around them for nearly two days, it was almost... hard, to act scared of them. Never once had they hurt the Earthlings... Well, not physically.

"Would you... give us room to talk; to explain?" Yami asked, truly needing to have the other's word on this matter.

Yuugi frowned, but nodded; still looking highly upset. "Only if you tell the truth this time."

The regal Althasian opened his mouth to reply, when he suddenly heard a voice at his ear. "Lover's tiff." Yami gasped and jumped back, seeing that it was only Mariku (who was smiling innocently, by the way). "Make up and kiss!" he cheered, seeming far too excited.

Yuugi suddenly looked a bit sick (as well as quite mortified), while Yami was simply flustered. "Shut UP, Mariku! You're making this worse!"

The other's face fell. "I... thought I helped..."

"No!" Yami snapped back angrily. "You're NOT helping! You're the one who got us out of that mess, but now we're being thrown out as criminals on the news!"

No, the prince was not exceedingly happy at the moment.

Mariku, had he donned certain animal parts, would have had the ears drooped back against his skull and the tail between his legs. "I'm sorry... I really didn't mean to cause any trouble..." he said quietly, looking like a small, trusting animal that had been betrayed and beaten.

But before anyone in the room could get over how pathetic he looked and add anything, he continued. "I couldn't stop myself..." he trailed off, pulling both of his hands to rest in front of him as he turned them to face up, and opened them, revealing what they held within.

Everyone stood, shocked. Yami and Bakura couldn't believe their eyes, while the humans recognized the object, and Ryou and Yuugi had quite a large idea on where it had come from. Then again, it's not like there were many places at all that it could have come from.

"You...!" Ryou was stunned. What the hell was the other thinking!

The only tanned male in the room gently held the metal to his chest, cradling it as if it were some small animal. "I couldn't help it. I just saw it, and had to have it."

"But that's a police badge!" Yuugi countered, stunned. But was this really the only reason that they were in trouble...? Then again, stealing a badge wasn't exactly a small feat, nor was it something to be laughed at. "I can't believe you..."

"How did you manage that?" Jounouchi asked, but he seemed like he really wanted to know. In the past, he had tried to get his hands on one of those, but it was out of pure spite for the men in uniform -- not because of how it looked.

All three newcomers made eye contact, and Mariku's were no longer clouded over with insanity. He swallowed and then glanced to the object he had stolen, then back to his comrades. And suddenly, it dawned on Yami and Bakura what exactly was going on.

Mariku knew -- he'd known that when he had somehow managed to make them fake identifications that they were going to get caught. And even more bizarre, heseemed to know that they were going to have to explain themselves to the humans. And so he'd given them all a reason to be in trouble, at least for the moment. It might just buy them enough time to sort this mess out... somewhat. At least they had their belongings, now. In any other situation, they would have been furious with him -- stealing was one of the most dishonorable and heinous things that could take place on their planet. Rape and murder didn't even exist for them. But there might be some instances where stealing could be ignored…

"Well, the man wasn't looking, and I just reached in his pocket and grabbed it." Mariku answered to Jounouchi, though his eyes still lingered on Yami's. Then they slowly made their way to the other blonde's face. "I didn't mean to start any trouble..." Tears bubbled up into his eyes, and his nose began to run. He sniffed the snot back in pathetically, lifting a hand to wipe at it. "I... I didn't mean to..."

Here start the water-works.

But this was somewhat welcomed. After all, who could place blame on a mentally retarded person? Not anyone with a conscience, that's for sure.

And, even though they had some time bought, it was quite obvious that they were either going to have to leave or reveal themselves to the three or four humans (as aliens, not literally reveal themselves -- that would boost the rating).

But for now, there was a silent sigh of relief.

"Mariku..." Yami began, before Yuugi interrupted him.

"He's taking that back. If not today, then tomorrow."

That sigh of relief just got sucked back into the their chests.

Mariku nodded, still whimpering pathetically. "Mariku promises he'll make things better." he said, voice cracking.

There was a drawn-out silence.

"So, uh... Aside from stealing a badge, any more interesting stories that you guys have to tell?" Jounouchi piped up, rubbing the back of his head. It seemed as though he were trying to change the subject.

Mariku's eyes suddenly lit up and he jumped to his feet. "Oh, there was this one time that I found this living Barlock and tried to eat it, but--"

Bakura seemed quite happy with his aim, after having hit his "friend" square in the face with his shoe. Yeah, of course they were going to have to eventually let someone know about them being off-worlders, but eventually didn't mean immediately. "You don't even know what you're saying half the time." he said to the tanned male, who was either unconscious or pretending to be.

Yami sighed, and turned to Yuugi, looking sympathetic and shaking his head. "I am very sorry about all of this. We shouldn't be causing you trouble."

The small teen sighed, shoulder slumping. "It's... okay. Just make sure everything's settled tomorrow, okay? I don't think we're allowed to have wanted criminals stay in our house after all..." He glanced up to Yami and a small -- very small -- smile tugged at his lips. The taller smiled back -- a look of complete and utter thankfulness.

"You are a very kind soul."

Nervous laughter answered him. But the moment was broken when a loud voice pulled their attention. All (save Mariku) looked over at the energetic blonde as he pulled a Yo-Yo out of his pocket and threaded his finger through the loop in the string. "Hey, Yuugi! I learned this new trick! Taught it to myself!"

The star-haired boy's eyes widened and he reached out his hand in horror. "Jounouchi-kun! Don't!"

But it was too late.

A loud, shattering crash hit the room like a ton of bricks, everything -- everything -- got silent. Even the wind outside stopped blowing, and the birds stopped chirping. The culprit looked like the little boy who got caught stealing cookies before a meal, knowing he was about to get the biggest lecture of his young life.

One word alone summed up this situation.

"...Fuck."

And, as if it wasn't bad enough, there in the doorway stood Mrs. Mutou, shopping bags in her arms, and a look of knowing horror on her face.

"My... my vase..." she croaked out. Suddenly, her eyes lit up with anger. "That's it... Out! Out of my house!"

Nobody dared question her or even hesitate as they made record speed in leaving. The last people out were Bakura and Mariku, but that was only because the latter was being carried on the first's back. Apparently he really was unconscious.

---

"Man, after all that work...!"

Yuugi wanted to cry. He really did. But he didn't even cry after being beaten bloody by bullies at school. So why should he cry now? Oh, right. Because his mother was worse than any bully. And what's worse was he had to live with her.

There weren't many words that could describe how horrible Jounouchi felt at this moment. "Yuug', I'm so sorry..."

And as upset as the boy was, he couldn't stay mad at his best friend. "I know, Jounouchi-kun... I'm not mad at you."

Ryou had his head in his hands, looking quite despondent. "Took me hours to get that thing, too! It was the last one they had…" But him saying this only seemed to make the mood worse. "But, uh… It's not like I spent very much money on it, anyway. It's not the end of the world."

"Yes it is," Yuugi moaned, sounding completely defeated. Yami gently patted him on the back, feeling sorry for the young teen. Jounouchi hung his head further at his friend's comment, feeling so utterly horrible, he couldn't even put it into words. Next to him sat Bakura, who was trying to hold himself back from maiming Mariku, who was using the police badge to reflect light into the silver-haired alien's eyes.

They were currently sitting on the curb near a bus stop, quite without a place to stay. Well, there was always Malik's place, but…

Um, no.

Then again, there was Ryou's, too. But the pale-haired teen had spoken up nervously, saying that his apartment was a junkyard (though he didn't mention why, he did let his gaze slip to the two who he had housed the previous night), and he couldn't possibly let them see.

They probably would have continued to sit there, each wrapped up in his own thing, had a voice not broken their little bubble.

"Well, well, this is certainly a motley crew. Find some new members for your pack, mutt?"

It was an instantaneous reaction where Jounouchi leapt to his feet, eyes burning and body rigid. "Look, jerk-wad, I'm having a bad day, and you'd better not…!"

The ominous figure of Seto Kaiba, trench coat-donned and brief-case holding, raised a thin, precisely plucked eyebrow. "Not what?" Then his expression changed slightly, his cold blue eyes still hateful and as arctic as ever. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I interrupt your pitiful brain trying to come up with something witty? Please, by all means continue."

Yami, Bakura, and Mariku were all staring, looking like time was frozen. As Jounouchi started shaking angrily all over, Yuugi stood up to intervene, but was knocked out of the way by Mariku.

"Seth!" he squealed – squealed – and tackled the millionaire at the waist, causing him to stumble and almost fall. But that was possibly the least Kaiba-like thing he could do, and somehow managed to stay on his feet. He looked absolutely furious. "Get your sniveling idiot off of me!" he demanded, grabbing Mariku roughly and ripping him off, being anything but gentle. "How dare you touch me like that," he hissed, shoving the tanned blonde backwards where he was caught by Yuugi.

Mariku looked horrified, and then started bawling, shaking all over. "How dare –you-, Seth! You're just pretending you don't know me!" he wailed, bringing attention to them from people walking by. Not only was Seto Kaiba out, but there was some crazy man attacking him! What a show!

Kaiba's eyes dropped nearly fifty degrees in temperature. "Believe me, I wouldn't ever associate myself with a psychopath like you." His voice was just as cold as his eyes.

Yami stood, and moved to where Mariku was crying in a heap and touched his slightly insane friend's arm, looking up with a glare at the brunette before him. "I'm very sorry. Forgive my friend; he's not right in the mind." It was obvious that Yami understood the situation, and what was really going on.

The elder Kaiba lifted his head a bit, nose in the air in the most a pompous way. "Make sure it doesn't happen again."

"You're such a bastard picking on people like that! You're all talk, that's what you are! I dare you to fight me!" Jounouchi shouted, lifting his fists up in front of his face. He spread his feet and bent his knees, getting into the typical Mortal Kombat fighting pose that was only ever used in street fights.

The taller scoffed, blowing air out of his nose so that it made an exasperated sound. "Sorry, but I don't stoop to your level, mutt." He said coolly and made his way past the shocked male. Jounouchi's eyes were a bit wide and he blinked them a few times, before he turned, pointing accusingly.

"Hey! You big chicken! Get back here and fight me like a man!"

"There's nothing manly about the way you fight, mutt."

Jounouchi was once again left shaking in rage, looking like he was ready to really kill someone. Yuugi left Mariku to Yami, and then ran to his friend, reaching out and tugging on his shirt. "Jounouchi-kun… don't. He's not worth it."

The spoken to turned and gazed down at his best friend with eyes that were a mix of emotions. Finally, a look of determination came over him and he smiled. "You're right. He ain't worth it." He turned, cupping his hands around his mouth. "You hear that, you jerk! You ain't worth it!" When the hands left his mouth, he was grinning. He spun back around, looking back to his happy-go-lucky self, all conflict forgotten.

Ryou had been watching silently, knowing that there was really nothing he could do. And Jounouchi wasn't one of his best friends, and Yuugi was, so… it was only right for Yuugi to help Jounouchi, and not him in Yuugi's place. But Seto Kaiba really did have a big ego that could use a little deflating.

He turned his eyes back to the three others, and frowned when he saw the looks they were giving each other. He felt like there was something he was missing out on – something big. But his thoughts were interrupted by the hyper dog-like teen. "You know, I hate to say it, but if I had the money, I think I'd like to buy the same cologne that jerk wears. It smells really, really good."

Yuugi's eyebrows knitted together, and his head tipped to the side. "I didn't smell anything. Are you sure it was Kaiba? He doesn't seem the type to spray on that much musk…"

The blonde frowned. "Sheesh, you must have a bad nose or something. It was really strong." But that kind of brought him back to the point that the brunette frequently referred to him as a dog; an animal which has an amazing nose. He flushed a bit. "Or, you know, it could have been comin' from someone else." he added quickly.

Ryou's eyes shifted from Yuugi and Jounouchi, to Yami, Bakura, and Mariku. They were all looking at the blonde, and then each other. Mariku giggled. Ryou only vaguely wondered where his tears had gone.

But then he met Bakura's eyes with his own, and he blushed, not expecting to be caught staring. But then his eyes widened. Wait… He'd smelled something really good earlier that no one else seemed to be able to smell, and he was around those three. Now Jounouchi was doing the same, and Yuugi, who was possibly closer to Kaiba at one point, hadn't been able to smell a thing…

What did that mean?

And why were the three continuously gazing at each other like they knew something and didn't like it? Well, save Mariku.

Taking in a breath, Ryou realized that he was going to have to pay closer attention to them. After all, they were convicts. And on that subject…

"Guys, I think we should probably just go to my place after all," he said, standing and suddenly feeling rather brave about letting others see the trash-heap that used to be his home. He was starting to feel uneasy anyway, like something bad was going to happen soon.

He got nothing but positive responses.

As he moved to pick up his sleep-over bag, slinging it over his shoulder, he heard something, or at least thought he heard something (it was whispered so lowly, he couldn't really be sure) that made him stop dead.

"Why is Seth here on Earth with an alias, I wonder?" came Yami's voice.

No. He couldn't have heard right. That was just… crazy. Ryou shook his head and turned to the public transportation bus that had just pulled up to the stop, refusing to even think about what he thought he had heard.

But as they loaded onto that bus that would take them to their new destination, a pair of eyes watched them closely. They were not the cobalt ones that belonged to the eldest of the Kaiba brothers, nor were they even familiar ones. The man who owned them opened up his cell-phone and dialed a number.

After two rings, a woman picked up.

"Hello, Domino Police Station, what is your emergency?"

"I just saw the three men from the news – the wanted, escaped ones. They just boarded bus," he paused, craning his neck to check the number. "Bus 187, heading west. They got on with about three other people."

"What is your location, sir?"

"I'm in front of the Shuu's Department Store." There was only one, so he really didn't need to elaborate much.

"Thank you sir; hold please."

But he didn't' hold. He just hung up. The man was not, in fact, a man, but a teenager. His jaw was swollen, and it caused him to talk with a strange lisp. But even though he was obviously recovering from being on the receiving end of a beating, he managed to sneer. "That'll teach you to clock me, you white-haired freak."

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving the group of six oblivious to the dangers that had just befallen them.

.: Chapter End :.

Chapter note: Okay, so the reason they were out in public after being thrown out on the news like that? Simple: Yuugi had explained to them that they were safe for now, because most people were out and about, and just now getting home, etc., and have yet to see the news. Except for Mr. Thief-of-the-Alien-Bags. And why he was there? He paid his fine for having stolen stuff, and got his ass out.

So there.

Chapter note end!

Waa! It's DONE! I'm so sorry it took so long… Really! But it ended with a twist, and completely different from what I had anticipated, so it's a shock for everyone!

I've completely rewritten this chapter about a total of three times now (in the first draft, they'd actually explained to Yuugi-tachi that they were aliens; in the second, I just didn't like the way it came out, so I rewrote it), and I'm finally RELATIVELY happy with how it came out. Hope you all are, too! Sorry it isn't longer… but I was on a roll, and I really don't want to have to pick up from there and have to conclude it again. xD; Sorry, guys…

And oh! A plot twist! I've given out so many hints in this chapter. Bet you can figure out some things, now. ;D

Well, hope you enjoyed, and so sorry for the wait! Summer's gonna hit me in just a few days, so I'll have a lot more free time!

Much love,

-Cecilia